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Saturday, 31 May 2014

I have thoroughly enjoyed myself as a Guest Designer for From The Heart Stamps. Those of you who know me, will know how excited I was to have been asked to guest for these past 2 months, and each week i've enjoyed sharing a new make with you, using Faith's fabulous stamps. "I would love to be a permanent member of this design team", is what I said to my husband a few weeks ago.
Well, imagine my surprise, and absolute delight, when I was asked if i'd like to make my position permanent! Woohooooo!! :)

** doing a happy dance!**

Huge thanks go to Faith and my lovely fellow teamies, for being so kind and welcoming, this card is for all of you...

I have used one of the THREE images you will get when you purchase Spring Baskets from the From The Heart Shop.
I've coloured the image using promarkers.
The spotty patterned paper is by Provocraft, from the 'tags, bags, boxes & more' paper pad.
The 'thanks' word die was bought from Clearly Besotted Stamps.

Today, Sketch Saturday is celebrating 6 years!
I posted the very first sketch on the blog on 31st May 2008.
To start with, My intention was to just share my layouts with anyone who would like to use them to make a card. Then, just a few months later, Sketch Saturday had a design team and sponsors! Then it became a popular challenge blog loved by so many :)
I had a fantastic time in my 4 years there, and though I was sad to go, it was the right time to do so, to give SS a new injection of craftiness with a fresh design team and fresh sketches.

To help celebrate 6
years of sketches, we are having a Blog Hop!
There are prizes hidden along the Blog Hop,
so leave a comment at each stop on the Hop
to maximize your chances of winning!

This image is one of my faves, Birthday Bunny by Little Miss Muffet Stamps.
The pretty paper was free in a craft mag, it's from a pad called Bonnets & Bowties and is by Lili of the Valley & Nitwit Collections.
The sentiment is from Paper Smooches 'Sentiment Sampler' set
I used the smallest flower from my Die-namics flower and leaf trio die and added a blue flatback crystal to finish.

Please hop along next to Julie's blog, oh and don't forget to comment ;)

The sketch challenge (using any sketch between 215 and 311) and the Blog Hop end at 7pm UK/ 1pm US-CT time on the 6th June.
All winners will be announced on the Sketch Saturday blog, on Saturday, 7th June.
Good luck everyone :) xx

I thought i'd make a stepper card this week as it's been a while since I last made one. After cutting and scoring, I decorated it with paper from Echo Park's 'Splash!' collection.
I coloured my image with promarkers.
I die-cut some swirly stems using the Marianne Die, Anja's Vintage Swirls. Then die-cut two flowers using the smallest flower from my Die-namics flower and leaf trio die, I added a bit of colour to get them to look similar to the yellow flower in the image.
The sentiment is by Paper Smooches, from the Sentiment Sampler set.

Monday, 26 May 2014

Happy Bank Holiday Monday!
And as it's Monday, it also means it's time for another fabulous I {heart}sketches challenge over at From The Heart Stamps.

here's the great sketch for this week...

The twist this week: Sentimentally Yours (use a sentiment)
Join in the challenge, and everyone who plays will receive a $1 discount code
for the store, and if you are the challenge winner, you will receive a $5 discount code to
the store! :)
Remember though, you must use an image by From The Heart Stamps to be eligible, and please include a pic of the sketch in your blog post too.

Here's my final sketch card as the Guest Designer for April & May...

I've used one of my favourite characters from the From The Heart Stamps shop; Yes, it had to be a Birdbrain! This one is Birdbrain Wine, Hic!
The sentiment is one of FOUR that come with the image.
I've coloured the image using promarkers, and also pencils for the finer detailling.
I wanted to add some extra grapes so I punched out 6 small circles and coloured them with promarkers, then gave 2 of them a tiny stalk using a teensy bit of kraft card.
The green paper is by Teresa Collins, Fabrications; and the other 2 papers are by My Mind's Eye, Stella & Rose, Hattie.

Thursday, 22 May 2014

It's time for a new challenge over at Little Miss Muffet.
and this time, we have another easy one for you. Anything Goes!

I've used one of the New Releases on my card, this is Jack Follow The Leader, a digital image from the Pollycraft range.
As it's a scene, I wanted the image to be large, so I kept it as the main part of the card. I've coloured the image using promarkers.
The sentiment is by Pink Petticoat
The striped paper is by Fancy Pants (Beach Babe), thanks Faye xx
The droplet border is a cArt-Us die.

The other Little Misses have made some beautiful creations, please visit the challenge blog to see what they have made.
And remember there's loads of inspiration on our facebook group too :)
Happy Crafting! xx

Monday, 19 May 2014

My inspirational post for today uses the sketch and twist from this weeks I {heart}sketches challenge, here's the sketch...

The twist this week is BINGO!
I've used the line: stitching / digital stamp / buttons.
Join in the challenge, and everyone who plays will receive a $1 discount code
for the store, and if you are the challenge winner, you will receive a $5 discount code to
the store! great eh?
Remember though, you must use an image by From The Heart Stamps to be eligible, and please include a pic of the sketch in your blog post too.
Entries close on Sunday, 10pm CST, which I think is 4am (Monday) in the UK.

Thursday, 15 May 2014

If you joined in with the Stamp Of The Month challenge in April, you will have received Whimsy Garden Fence via
email.
You have until the end of this month to submit your entry to this month's
challenge using the image shown below, and if you do, you will receive next month's SOTM digi for free too.

If you didn't play last month and don't have this stamp, you can
still join in by buying the image from the store.

This is the image...

and here is my card for today's inspirational post...

With a detailed stamp such as this, I personally like to keep my card design simple so that nothing distracts from the wonderful image.
I have coloured the image using promarkers.
The sentiment is one of FOUR that you will get for free with the image.
Other items used were a SU scalloped border punch and a few card candi to finish. Simples!

There's still time for you to play with this fab image, there's 2 more
weeks to get your entry in, and remember if you do, you'll get June's
SOTM emailed to you for free.

This is Neomie, one of the Polka Dot Pals by Little Miss Muffet Stamps.
I love all of the Polka Dot Pals, they are such a joy to colour up.
I coloured Neomie with promarkers, I also gave her a face.
I haven't used an designer papers at all. Instead, I added detail to the darkest pink card stock with a paisley embossing folder, die-cut and paper pierced the edges of the scalloped circles, and then finished with card candi.
The sentiment is by Stampin Up (bring on the cake).

Please stop by our Facebook Group or the LMMS page to see more inspirational projects using LMMS images.
Oooh, and don't forget our current challenge, which is a Button Bonanza!
We'd love to see you join in :)

Thursday, 8 May 2014

My image is Sunflower Patch, I've coloured it with pencils.
The dark brown buttons used on the flower heads are old, they were in a metal tin that belonged to my grandmother. She had buttons in there from when my Mom was a child. I love the detail on these buttons...

The spotty patterned paper is by Provocraft, from the 'tags, bags, boxes & more' paper pad.

Monday, 5 May 2014

Thank you for hopping with From The Heart for our Get Well / Encouragement blog hop, to find out if you're a winner of a free image or the winner of the $5 gift voucher, don't forget to visit the FTH blog on Wednesday :)

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for another I {heart}sketches challenge, here's this weeks superb sketch...

The twist this week is 1, 2, 3 (1 ribbon, 2 designer papers and 3 embellishments).
Join in the challenge, and everyone who plays will receive a $1 discount code
for the store, and if you are the challenge winner, you will receive a $5 discount code to
the store.
Remember though, you must use an image by From The Heart Stamps to be eligible, and please include a pic of the sketch in your blog post too.

I decided to colour up this Birdbrain with a striped shirt, yeah that old stereotype, but it really suits him, don't you think?
Technically I used 3 papers besides from my white card base, the 2 patterned ones by BG, and the plain navy blue which is an old sheet bought from when I first started card making, it has gotten a little creased over the years though.
The ribbon and crystals were in my stash too.

Friday, 2 May 2014

As you hop along, please leave a comment on each entry. One random
commenter will be selected on each blog to win the image that the
designer used. And additionally, one commenter on the From the Heart
Stamps blog will be selected to win a $5 gift voucher to the store!

I have coloured using promarkers, I sponged the sky with SU inks though (basic gray and a touch of bashful blue)
The papers are by Bella Gypsy 'The Last Key' (grey gingham), and Echo Park 'Times & Seasons' (navy piece)
The borders were made using the Xcut 'diamond' punch.
The sentiments come with the image.

For your next stop on the hop, please head over to Angela, and see what she has created to inspire you.

Thanks for hopping along with us. Don't forget to tell your crafty friends!
The hop will end on Monday May 5th
at 6am, EST (11am UK time)
Winners will be posted on the From the Heart Stamps Blog on
Wednesday May 7th.
Happy Hopping! xx

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Good Morning :)
The Little Misses have inspirational posts to share with you today. My card includes recycling too.
I made this card back in June last year, using LMM's Cupcake Surprise...

Well, I was asked if I could make a card using a cute bunny image and the same papers and layout as the cupcake card, but I don't have enough of this pretty Stampin Up paper (Sweet Always) anymore to make a new card base, I only have scraps left :(

But, as luck would have it, I still had the card, and was able to carefully remove the image so that I can use it on another base some time, and I replaced it with Easter Bunny Sitting, a recently new release by Little Miss Muffet Stamps.

isn't she adorable? I've got to colour her up again soon.

I personalised the card using Die-namics dies for the name, and 'happy birthday' dies by Clearly Besotted Stamps.
I tucked away a little tag with the number 30 on it beneath the beautiful organza bow.

I won't be entering this card in to any challenges as it doesn't seem right to do that with a recycled card base.

Please stop by our Facebook Group or the LMMS page to see more inspirational cards using LMMS images.
And remember, the current challenge over on the LMMS blog is Anything Goes, so you have a free rein to have a play with any of the fab images from Little Miss Muffet Stamps. Come on crafters, let's see your entries! ;)

It's the 1st of May, May Day, and today is my younger daughter's birthday.
Laura has a mischievous little cat named Jynx, so I decided to use this Cat with flower digi image by Motivet and try to colour it similar to her cheeky little kitty...

I don't know where I got this beautiful green floral paper from originally, I found it in my paper drawer, it must have come out of a pad that I had at one time though. If any of you know where it came from, please leave a comment and let me know, thanks.

UPDATE: Thanks to Faye, I now know that the paper is by Fancy Pants, from the Beach Babe collection, this sheet is called 'sand dollar'... Thank you Faye! xx

I embossed the cream piece with a grass embossing folder that I had free with a craft mag. The pretty white border was made using Stampin Up's eyelet border punch.
'happy birthday' has been cut using word dies from Clearly Besotted Stamps. The sentiment is also from there too (For Everyone stamp set).
I cut out an arched banner around the sentiment so that it would frame the outside of the image, then added punched flowers and crystals on the opposite side to finish.